The present invention generally relates to piston rings for lubricating a cylinder wall of a piston housing in a combustion tool and, more particularly, to piston rings made of self lubricating materials.
It is well known that commercially available piston rings can be molded from a wearable low friction, e.g. self-lubricating, material in a shape to act as self-lubricating, sealing piston rings. Typically, such piston rings are made of PTFE (polytetraflouroethylene) which have extraordinarily low coefficients of sliding friction, high thermal stability and satisfactory wear properties. In fact, these PTFE rings are used in the vast majority of cordless, internal combustion engine-driven pneumatic nailers and air compressors. The presence of a PTFE ring in the piston assembly of an internal combustion engine would negate the need for an external lubricant, and allows the engine to run on lubricant-free fuel which is less costly than lubricant-added fuel. However, it has been observed that the use of PTFE rings to perform both self-lubricating and sealing functions has certain disadvantages.
More particularly, when the PTFE rings are used as a direct replacement for steel sealing rings, the natural lubricity of the PTFE rings is so excellent that it makes the cylinder wall too slippery. As a result, the piston will not retain its position at the top of the stroke (TDC). This causes problems in fuel-air mixture and in the pre-travel of the driver blade.
While it has been proposed to solve the above problem by forming additional grooves in the cylinder to physically hold the piston at TDC, arrangements of such grooves or the like have necessitated the reconstruction of the piston from several points at high costs. This, in turn, can adversely affect the marketability of the tool.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a piston ring assembly for use in internal combustion engine-driven tools in which the aforementioned disadvantages are avoided.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a piston ring assembly for use in an internal combustion engine of a cordless tool which is capable of efficiently lubricating the cylinder wall of a piston housing while allowing enough friction for the piston to operate properly within the piston housing during cycling, especially when the piston is at the top-of-the-stroke position.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a non-sealing, self-lubricating ring for use in the inventive piston ring assembly. The non-sealing, self-lubricating ring is configured to optimize the lubricity of the piston housing by uniformly transferring the self-lubricating material onto the cylinder wall.
These and other objects of the present invention are achieved by separating the sealing and lubricating functions of the piston ring assembly in an internal combustion engine.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a piston assembly comprises a reciprocating piston axially movable within a cylinder, and a piston ring assembly. The piston ring assembly includes at least one sealing ring, for sealing between an inner wall of the cylinder and the piston, and a non-sealing, self-lubricating ring positioned between the inner wall of the cylinder and the piston and axially spaced from the sealing ring. The non-sealing, self-lubricating ring is made at least partially of a low-friction wearable material.
In a preferred embodiment, the non-sealing, self-lubricating ring is made of PTFE while the sealing ring is a steel sealing ring. Thus, the non-sealing, PTFE ring is used in conjunction with the steel ring wherein the PTFE ring will be used solely to lubricate the cylinder wall and the steel ring will perform the sealing function of the piston to the cylinder wall. By not utilizing the PTFE ring as a seal, many different shapes and geometries of the PTFE ring are possible to achieve-maximum lubrication results.
The foregoing objects of the present invention are also achieved by a non-sealing, self-lubricating ring configured to be in contact with the cylinder wall and rotate about the piston during engine operation, thereby evenly transferring the self-lubricating material onto the cylinder wall.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, the non-sealing, self-lubricating ring has an outer circumferential portion which forms a plurality of obliquely extending gas passages communicating upper and lower surfaces of the non-sealing, self-lubricating ring. As a result, gases or fluids contained in the cylinder are free to move through the outer circumferential portion to promote rotation of the non-sealing, self-lubricating ring about the piston during axial movements thereof within the cylinder.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the non-sealing, self-lubricating ring comprises an annular cylindrical body adapted to be mounted on and carried by a piston axially movable within a cylinder, and a plurality of fins of a low-friction wearable material formed on the outer circumferential surface of the annular body and adapted to be in constant contact with an inner wall of the cylinder. The radial fins extend obliquely between the end faces of the annular body to promote rotation of the non-sealing, self-lubricating ring about the piston during axial movements of the piston within the cylinder. As a result, the low-friction wearable material, which is preferably PTFE, will transfer itself easily and uniformly to the inner wall of the cylinder.
Still other objects and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, wherein the preferred embodiments of the invention are shown and described, simply by way of illustration of the best mode contemplated of carrying out the invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of other and different embodiments, and its several details are capable of modifications in various obvious respects, all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description thereof are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive.